Muslim Demonstration in Antwerp

The decision by two schools in the Flemish city of Antwerp to ban pupils from wearing headscarves continues to see ramifications.

Last week, after the decision was announced, an imam influential in the Muslim community of Flanders called on Muslim parents who disagreed with the decision to boycott Flemish schools.

He later backed down from this demand - but many parents are still unhappy, and this culminated in a demonstration on Sunday.

The decision was made for the following reason:

Starting September 1, 2009, all political and religious symbols will be banned in the city high schools (koninklijke atheneum) of Antwerp and Hoboken (Belgium), according to the new school regulations. The administration decided to take this step to protected their students against the increasing group pressure of, for instance, wearing a headscarf.

From Islam in Europe:

On Sunday about 120 Muslims protested in Antwerp against the headscarf ban in the Royal Athenaeums of Antwerp and Hoboken. They carried signs saying: "Everybody free, except us," "Democracy, not discrimination" and "You are the oppressors, not us."

They demanded to rescind the headscarf ban by the two schools.

Parent Mina Cheeba said in a speech that the representatives of the parents in the school council haven't heard of any social pressure to wear a headscarf and that if there are actual complaints, then they would like to take a look at them so they could come to a solution together.

Cheeba says the decision to ban the headscarf was made without asking the parents' advice. The school regulations shouldn't be changed autonomously, but by consultation with the parents.

Several students also expressed their displeasure. One said that they're supposedly under pressure to wear a headscarf, but that's nonsense. They are not feather-brains who accept everything without thinking.

Ayoub Aazzouti said that he's fed up of the men being portrayed as machos who force girls to wear headscarves, because it's not like that. "For us boys and girls are equal. We have a lot of respect for them and they are intelligent enough to decide on their own if they wear a headscarf or not. Stop using us as an excuse."

On Monday about 40 Muslim women showed up to protest in front of the Royal Athenaeum of Hoboken. Some of the slogans included: 'distressed by the lack of understanding', 'why a ban on my character', and 'lies in order to discriminate'.

One of the students spoke: "We have a right to study and to a headscarf. It's not one or the other, we have a right to both."

As the demonstrations continue, four female Muslim pupils have had their family turn to lawyers to see if the ban can be defeated in the courts (at the expense of Belgian taxpayers, presumably).

Meanwhile, Vlaams Belang member Filip Dewinter called for VB members and activists to report women wearing burqas to the police.

Wearing a garment which completely covers the body and obscures the face is technically illegal in Antwerp - but the police tend to do nothing.

That is the real problem - often the authorities are afraid of offending Muslims, because of the inevitable backlash, be it violence or legal Jihad at the taxpayers' expense. My feeling is that if the schools do not back down, they will be forced to do so in one way or another.

Here are some pictures from Sunday's demonstration, which show quite well the demographic transformation of parts of Antwerp: